Double-deck vehicle



June 15 1926. 1,588,906

G. J. RACKHAM DOUBLE DECK VEHICLE.

File 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,2; 1/6/27 5? Geo ye Zia 0% 44771/3 June 15 ,1926.

G. J. RACKHAM DOUBLE DECK VEHICLE Filed Oct. 16 1924 I Figa- 3 Sheets-Shet 2 [mm/ [fads/2am.

June 15 1926. 1,588,906

' G.- J. RACKHAM nousms: nncx VEHICLE Filed Oct." 16, 1 4 v 3 sheets-Shed :s

Fqza Fly/2 Y F4 14 E 15 Patented June 15, 1926.

' UNITED STATE S PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE JOHN RACKHAM, OF CHICAGO, ILILTNOIS, ASSIGNOR TO YELLOW- COACH MANUFACTURING (30., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

DOUBLE-DECK VEHICLE.

Application filed October 16, 1924. Serial No. 743,857.

In the construction of double deck vehicles, a number of different expedients have been adapted in the effort to reduce the overall height of the vehicle and at the same time to afford full standing head-room in the aisles which is required to permit movement of passengers from end to end of the vehicle. In the effort to secure this result, it has been customary in the past to provide a lower compartment havin a center aisle of full height extending into t e space between the upper seats which in this case, however, must be of the bench variety extending longitudinally of the vehicle or car. Certain modifications of this idea have been devised in which two lower outer aisles are provided, each of which extend up under an upper longitudinally extending side seat on the upper deck. Heretofore, so far as I am advised, no effort has been directed to the provision of cross seats in combination with upper and lower aisles each affording full head-room, and the present invention is directed to such an arrangement.

In order to reduce the height of the ve hicle as a whole with an arrangement of this character, it is necessary to locate the upper and lower aisles out of vertical coincidence with one another, unless the floor of the low- 9 er aisle be lowered below its normal level,

but the preferred embodiment is one "which obviates the necessity for thusintroducing abnormal features into the structure of the vehicle as .a'whole. In arranging the aisles- 5 out of vertical coincidence, it will be found that some of the cross seats will be afi'orded full standing head-room, while in'the case of others sitting head-room only is afforded,

which, however, is unobjectionable where easy access to the aisles is afforded. Atthe same time the arran ement is one which affords a full, note. 0 cross seats, so that the capacity of t e vehicle isequal to that of double deck vehicles of the ordinary typ'e in'which full headroom is afforded to all the seats, both 11 per and lower. The in- 'vention is one w ich is susceptible of embodiment in a large number of variations, all of which, however, are obvious adaptations of the basic ideas involved.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the interior of a motor coach orthe like showing the preferred embodiment of the invention; Figs. 2 to 11 are diagrammatic views showing modifications of the seat and aisle arrangement of Fig. 1; and

Figs. 12 to 16 are modifications which require a lowering of the floor for the lower aisle below the normal level of the vehicle body. I

As shown in Fig. 1, the vehiclea motor bus, street car, or the like is provided with a lower floor 40 carried by Bills 41, which latter constitute a part of the chassis, the running gear being omitted. The vehicle is provided with windowed side walls 42 which extend practically the full height of the ve hicle and are overtopped by a roof 43. The vehicle is divided into lower and upper stories by the provision of an upper floor which comprises a lower section 44 and an upper section 45 which are vertically offset to aflord a longitudinally extending step 46. The upper and lower floor sections extend from end to end of the vehicle unbroken by cross offsets or the like.

The provision of the upper floor divides the vehicle in such a way as to provide full standing head-room for the lower floor on one side of the step or offset and full standing head-room for the upper floor on the other side of the step or oflset. A longitudinally extending ortion of the floor underlying the elevated portion of the upper'fioor. constitutes the lower aisle 47, and similarly a portion of the depressed section of the upper As shown in Fig. 1, the longitudinally ex- 00 tending step in the upper floor is so located as to divide the vehicle longitudinall into a right-hand section comprising twofths of the complete width and a left section comprising three-fifths. Such an arrangement, therefore, makes provision for the employment in the lower story of the car or vehicle of a row of bodily elevated forwardly facing triple cross seats 49 along the left side of the car and a row of bodily elevated forwardly facing single cross seats 50 along the right side of the car immediately adjacent to the windows. The upper story makes provision for two rows of bodily elevated forwardly facin double cross seats 51-51 with the 11 per siege extending directly down the midd e of the car. i

In Fi 2 to 11 are shown a large number ofmodi cations of the arrangement hereto-' fore described in all of which it will be observed that the upper floor is step ed to afi'ord vertically overlapping standing eight sections for the lower and upper stories so that in all cases some of the seats will be all'orded full standing head-room, while others will be afforded sitting head-room only. It is believed that the various modifications of this idea are self-evident from an inspection of the diagrammatic views and that detailed description of each will not be necessary.

In Figs. 12 to 16 is shown an arrangement in which the lower floor is stepped down wardly outside of one of the side sills of the chassis to afi'ord a side aisle 52 having full standing room. In this case, it will be noted that all of the upper seats are afi'orded full standing head-room and all of the lower seats are afiorded only sitting head-room. lhis arrangement in some cases may be deemed objectionable, in that it necessitates a departure from recognized body designs and introduces complications of construction, but, for some puroses, this design may prove satisfactory. he structure, in any of the designs shown, is one which secures the comforts and convenience of forwardly facin bodily elevated cross seats, all havin a equate headroom with a reduced overal height which is frequently necessitated by over-head struc tures, such as bridges, telegraph wires and the like, and at the same time unifies the construction in such a way as to improve the appearance of the vehicle as a whole in comparison with the vehicle employing makeshift shelters, such as canopies, or the like, for the upper deck.

Although numerous modifications in the main idea have been illustrated, it is not the intention to confine the invention to the particular arrangements shown, since other ads tations o the same general idea may be ound available. a

I claim:

1. A double deck Vehicle including a lower deck placed entirely on a single level, and provided with two series of forwardly facing seats located along its side walls with a longitudinally extending aisle between said series of seats, said aisle bein located substantially in the central ortion of the vehicle and away from the side walls, and said vehicle including an upper deck reaching in a single level over one of said lower deck series of seats and over the lower deck aisle,

and being of reduced elevation over the other lower deck series of seats, and two series of forwardly facing seats located elevation part of the upper deck which is located against the outer wall of the ve-- hicle.

2. A double deck vehicle including a lower deck placed entirely on a single level,'and provided with two series of transversely extending seats located along its side walls with a longitudinally extending aisle between said series of seats, said aisle being located away from both of the side walls of the vehicle, and said vehicle including an upper deck reaching in a single level over one of said lower deck series of seats and over the lower deck aisle, and being of reduced elevation over the other lower deck series of seats, and two series of transversely extending seats located along the side 'walls ofthe upper deck, one of said series of seats fully occupying the first men .tioned portion of the upper deck, and the other of said series of upper deck seats occupying that portion of the reduced elevation part of the upper deck which is located against the outer-wall of the vehicle, and leaving the inner side of the reduced elevation part of the upper deck unoccupied by seats to thereby provide an upper deck aisle of reduced elevation.

3. A double deck vehicle including a lower deck placed entirely on a single level, and provided with two series of transversely extending seats located along its side walls with a longitudinally extending aisle between said series of seats, said aisle being located away from both of the side walls of the vehicle, and said vehicle including an upper deck reachin in a single level over one of said lower eck series of seats and over the lower deck aisle, and being of reduced elevation over the other lower deck series of seats, and a series of transversely extending seats fully occupyingthe first mentioned portion of the upper deck,'the second mentioned portion of the upper deck establishing an upper deck aisle of reduced elevation over the second lower deck series of seats.

GEORGE JOHN RACKHAM. 

